Rep. Mike Honda Introduces Toxic Exposure Research and Military Family Support Act of 2014

VVA Press Release

(Washington,DC)–
“We applaud Rep. Mike Honda (D-CA17) and his colleagues in the House of
Representatives for introducing H.R. 4816, the Toxic Exposure Research and
Military Family Support Act of 2014,” said VVA National President John
Rowan. “Among the so-called invisible wounds of war are those brought home
by troops that may not manifest for a decade, or more. And most tragically,
they may pass on genetically to the children and grandchildren of our nation’s
warriors. Our children are the innocent victims of our military service.”

This
bill, like S.1602, introduced by Sen. Blumenthal (D-CT), instructs the
Department of Veterans Affairs to establish a national center for the
diagnosis, treatment, and research of health conditions of the descendants of
veterans exposed to toxins during service in the Armed Forces and to provide
certain services to those descendants. Toxins, such as Agent Orange, have been
shown to cause birth defects in the children of military personnel who came
into contact with them, either during the Vietnam War, in the storage and
transportation of them, or by riding in aircraft that had been previous used to
transport the toxins. H.R. 4816 would also require the Department of Veterans
Affairs to coordinate with the National Birth Defects Registry and create a
central research facility dedicated to studying and chronicling the incidence
of birth defects caused by toxins like Agent Orange.

H.R. 4816 has been referred to the Committees on Veterans’ Affairs and Armed Services.

We
thank our fellow veterans of the American Legion and AMVETS for standing with
us in support of this critical bill, as well as the following H.R. 4816
cosponsors: Rep. Conyers (D-MI13), Rep. Grijalva (D-AZ3), Rep. Napolitano (D-CA32), Rep. Higgins (D-NY26), Rep. Bordallo
(D-GUAM), Rep. Keating (D-MA9), Rep. Kirkpatrick (D-AZ1), Rep. Lee
(D-CA13), and Rep. Welch (D-VT At-Large).